I Really Am Famous!

     National Ag Day was on Tuesday and I made it on television! I was on this week's episode of "This Week in AgriBusiness". I have given the link below- I appear at about minute 3:20. 

http://farmprogressamerica.com/video.aspx?vc=14

     I gave two tours this week and attended a judiciary hearing about satellite television as well as a health, education, labor, and pensions hearing on student loans. They talked about making the process easier for students to acquire loans rather than filling out so much paperwork. 

Em

This is me on TV!

National Ag Day

     Last week was very uneventful due to the Senate not being in session but so far this week has been pretty exciting. Yesterday I gave a tour to an older group of people. Two of them had just gotten smart phones so they sometimes needed my assistance in figuring out how to take photos on the tour.

     Today was National Ag Day! A new Iowa Statue was dedicated in National Statuary Hall. The Norman Borlaug statue. He will replace the statue of James Harlan. I watched the unveiling on TV at work. It was cool to see everyone speak and the "Iowa Corn Song" was sung. I didn't even know we had a corn song. I also attended a luncheon today being emceed by Orion Samuelson, the Ag broadcaster. He introduced some people who were being inducted into the Outstanding Farmers Association and Senator Boozman spoke at it as well. Several FFA members were also in attendance.

     I have a Judiciary committee, Health Education Labor Pensions, and several more tours this week. 

Em

Norman Borlaug

Orion Samuelson

Sunshine and Walking

     Monday I gave the family an official Emily tour of the Capitol and Senate buildings. In the afternoon I gave a tour to a couple and one was from Turkey so there had to be some translating back and forth. Yesterday I took the day off and we went to Mt Vernon and toured the estate. It was about 70 degrees. Then last night we did a walking tour of some of the memorials at night. We have been averaging about 9 miles of walking a day. Today I went to a HELP Committee hearing on raising the minimum wage. Different people gave testimony regarding studies done on how it will change the job market. My family leaves tomorrow early and I have an agriculture hearing in the morning. It has been really nice for the past week but now its looking to be 30ish degrees tomorrow.

Em

The Wharf at Mt Vernon

Mt Vernon

Lincoln at night

Backside of Mt Vernon

Mt Vernon

Optical Illusions

     Day 2 with the family--We toured the Holocaust Museum this morning. On the way we saw the US Department of Agriculture building so that will have to be a stop later in the week. In the afternoon we did a walking tour of the memorials: Washington, World War II, Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, Martin Luther King Jr., Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. Today we walked about 8.5 miles :) It was about 50 degrees today, a little cooler than yesterday's 65 degrees. We have also decided everything is an optical illusion on how far things actually are. They don't look far away but when you start walking to them you realize they are a ways away. 

Em

Korean War Memorial

Jefferson memorial

Vietnam Memorial

FDR memorial

Jumping at the Lincoln memorial

MLK Jr Memorial

12 Miles Strong

     Well my family officially got here yesterday!! We walked around last night and went out to eat at a nearby pizza place.

     Today we toured the White House in the morning and walked around the area near it. This afternoon we went to Arlington Cemetery. We watched the Changing of the Guard ceremony and saw the Kennedy family graves as well as touring other parts. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and walked back to our apartment as the sun was setting in DC. We walked a total of 12 miles today and can now join the next marathon walking group :)

Em

Sun Setting

Kennedy Graves

Changing of the Guard

At the White House

Arlington Cemetery 

The Dalai Lama and Aging

     Today the Dalai Lama was at the Capitol for various meetings! A few of the other interns just got a picture of his back but it was still pretty cool knowing he was in the building. Yesterday I rode the Senate Subway with Senator Carper from Delaware and he was chatting with me about my life, getting jobs in DC, and other things. It was pretty cool talking to him. Otherwise the week has been pretty normal. I've just been running errands to the Capitol and other buildings, answering phones, taking news clips, and archiving. I attended an Aging Committee hearing discussing senior citizens in poverty. Tomorrow the family comes for a week so I am definitely looking forward to that. :)

Em

Famous by Association

     Last week I attended a Judiciary hearing on the wireless market and how mobile devices have grown into a large industry. The US uses 5x more mobile devices as Europe. I also attended a hearing about making college more accessible for disabled citizens. It was really interesting hearing from students about how colleges have made it easier for disabled citizens to attend and what more can be done. I also saw Ben Affleck last week too!! This makes me famous by association! He was testifying for Foreign Relations committee and I took a picture of him coming out of the hearing.

     Today we did not work because of a mass amount of snow. Hopefully tomorrow it is nicer and by the end of the week it is supposed to be 50 degrees!!

Em

Ben Affleck!